Saturday, December 31, 2011

Dexter is Delicious

Want to finish 2011 on a high anticipatory note? I did, and now I can thanks in part to Jimmy Callaway and the fine folks at The Criminal Complex for breaking the news to me that Pete Dexter's The Paperboy is coming to the screen in 2012, directed by Lee Daniels, (whose Shadowboxer is low-grade notorious for its WTF factor, and who produced tough-hearted shit like The Woodsman, Monster's Ball and Precious). It will star Zac Efron, Nicole Kidman, John Cusack and Matthew McConaughey and check this here poster the hell out. Sahweet. 'Course it all starts with Dexter for me. That cat is badass, and if you don't know his work, take this as my enthusi-fucking-astic endorsement of his particular brand of rough/perty prose and hardnard story stuffs. Yeah, color me excited.

Speaking of Dexter-level wordsmiths, I had to include Rick DeMarinis's Mama's Boy on my 2011 favorite novels list at Ransom Notes even though it weren't technically no mystery book. DeMarinis does write crime, but yeah, it was a stretch to put that particular book on a mystery blog. Please avail yerself of DeMarinis through his novels or short stories (he's got like three collections of shorts - fantastic) and tell your friends and neighbors to as well. He deserves a much more prominent place in the reading public's consciousness. That particular list is, I think, a helluva good showing for the last year. Even with penalizing some of my favorite books like Craig McDonald's El Gavilan, John Rector's Already Gone and Scott Phillips' The Adjustment for their authors having appeared on my 2010 list, it's some strong ass shit. Check it out and tell me what you think.

Even more lists to come. Just cause. See you at the end of the world.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I read The Paperboy not long after I began working as a journalist in the U.S., and I loved the book. An education as well as a great story.

David Cranmer said...

That's very good news about Pete Dexter's The Paperboy.

Ben said...

I had no idea who that Dexter guy is, but "The Paperboy" is an awesome name for a novel. Glad another comrade in crime is getting some love.

Oh and I finally got my hands on some Scott Phillips stuff. I had to go through Amazon. I know he despises it, I'm sure he will forgive me because Montreal is not exactly the Anglo Indie Bookstore mecca. I'll give that a read in my busy-ass reading winter.

pattinase (abbott) said...

Loved the novel. Hope they do it justice.

Anonymous said...

Great book, terrific news. The poster looks pretty amazing & retro and I loved Lee Daniels Monsters Ball. I loved Dexter's Deadwood as well. Nice list you put together as well.